The use of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in industrial environments and governmental regulations for PCB use has created a need for effective PCB removal. The cleanup of PCBs has heretofore been primarily accomplished with the use of kerosene, a like-polarity solvent for PCBs. Kerosene has had widespread use but has several drawbacks including the volatile nature of the solvent, difficulty in both application and removal of the solvent from surfaces plus minimal extraction efficiency. The difficulty in the removal of the PCB-laden kerosene from surfaces is due to the lack of solvent miscibility with water in the final water rinsing. The kerosene removal problem has resulted in making PCB cleanup labor intensive.
Accordingly, a substantial need exists for PCB cleaning compositions which are easy to apply, are water miscible for rinsibility, and which have higher extraction capability for PCBs. Cleaning compositions with these attributes are more effective and will reduce the manpower needed for PCB removal. This invention provides such compositions. The compositions provided also have a low flash point and are not toxic.
Accordingly, this invention specifically relates to the removal of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) from contaminated surfaces and to novel cleaning compositions therefor. More particularly, the invention relates to chemical compositions in which a petroleum fraction is combined with a wetting agent fraction to render the petroleum fraction water miscible. Such compositions are extremely effective for the removal of PCBs. The compositions may be applied directly in liquid form or as a foam. The foam application has advantages over previously-used PCB cleaners in that it is effective on vertical, horizontal and overhead surfaces and has superior extraction capability, and is effective in reduced application volumes. The reduction in volume of PCB-laden solvent is an important factor in PCB clean-up due to the need for its containment and subsequent disposal or destruction.